"Which path" decoherence in quantum dot experiments

TL;DR

This paper analyzes optical experiments with semiconductor quantum dots, establishing a quantitative link between environmental information transfer and observable optical polarization in spectroscopy.

Contribution

It provides a new theoretical relation connecting environmental decoherence and optical polarization measurements in quantum dot experiments.

Findings

Quantitative relation between information transfer and polarization

Interpretation of recent quantum dot experiments

Insights into decoherence mechanisms in quantum optics

Abstract

We analyze and interpret recent optical experiments with semiconductor quantum dots. We derive a quantitative relation between the amount of information transferred into the environment and the optical polarization that may be observed in a spectroscopy experiment.